Salads - Recipes

Recipes Room

follow this blog

131 followers

313 daily readers

rank of 490

A free website where you can share your Recipes!

E-mail Subscription

Receive an e-mail notification of new posts on this site:

Category Quick Links

I think I first ate Tabouli some time last year. And the only reason I decided to try it was because one of my friends a-d-o-r-e-s eating it. Turns out, I was actually surprised at how much flavour it packs in! Sometimes you see the tabouli just sitting there in shops, looking a bit lonely, a bit dehydrated, a bit wilted,.. even sad ..that is if vegetables had feelings. And all this negative vegetable energy is unlikely to make you think “Wow I want to try that!”. However, if you do make Tabouli yourself, it really does taste fresh and flavoursome! The way it was meant to be!

There’s an entertaining story about the origin of Tabouli here. I’m a bit dubious as to its authenticity and credibility, hard to imagine Caesar and Cleopatra fighting over the name of a salad, but hey, it’s interesting nonetheless.

Also, did you know that: parsley contains three times as much vitamin C as oranges, twice as much iron as spinach, is rich in vitamin A and also contains folate, potassium and calcium. That means, not only does Tabouli taste great, but its good for you too!

Tabouli

Ingredients: 1 cup Burghul wheat, 1 cup water, 1 small red onion, ½ tsp salt, 4 cups chopped flat-leaf (Italian) parsley, 2 tbsp chopped mint leaves, juice of 2 lemons, ½ cup olive oil, 2 small ripe tomatoes diced, salt and pepper

Steps: Put the burghul in a bowl and cover with 1 cup cold water. Cover and leave to stand for a few hours or overnight (recommended), so that the burghul absorbs the water. Stir through a couple of times.

Chop the onion finely then place in a small bowl, cover with cold water and sprinkle with salt. Leave to stand for 20minutes or so before draining the water and chopping finely.

Drain the burghul through a fine sieve to extract any water. Then mix together the burghul, parsley, mint, onion, lemon juice and oil. Season with salt and pepper and mix well. Mix the tomatoes through just prior to serving. (Otherwise they tend to get a bit soggy)

Serves 4

Comments (2)

Add Comments

Vote

[ Link ]

November 3rd 2006 @ 02:42

Posted By: Laura - Category: Salads

Email this Post to a Friend

Greek boiled potato salad

Boiled potato salad

Bored of your regular variety potato salad? Well then, why not give this Greek boiled potato salad a whirl! It has an olive-oil base, rather than a cream-base, and the olives, red onion and potato blend really well together. It’s also Greek and hence filled with Mediterranean goodness! You can almost imagine the white-washed stone walls surrounding you and the cool sea breeze on your face can’t you?

Did you know that the only difference between green olives and black olives is ripeness? Unripe olives are green and fully ripe olives are black! Olives are cured or pickled before eating, using a variety of methods including oil-cured, water-cured, brine-cured, dry-cured, and lye-cured. The longer the olive is permitted to ferment in its own brine, the less bitter and more intricate its flavor will become. Amazing isn’t it? But this leads me to ask, when you see the generic version of olives in your supermarket that says “black olives”, why does it not tell you the variety? Who knows what’s really inside!? Surely it isn’t THAT hard to put a variety on the front. Or maybe that’s the reason they are less expensive? Because they save the money on the detail of the label! You can really use any variety of olive in this salad, however I prefer kalamata olives. They are a Greek black olive with a deep purple colour and a rich and fruity flavor. Very delicious and not too strong!
[ Click here to read more ]

Add Comments

Vote

[ Link ]

October 28th 2006 @ 00:08

Posted By: Laura - Category: Salads

Email this Post to a Friend

Tangy Crab salad

Tangy Crab Salad

This is a really quick and easy salad which you can whip up in minutes and is great as a light lunch on a hot day! The lemon gives it just enough tang!Something about the colour and brightness makes me feel like its Summer already! That and probably the raging temperatures these last few days. I hear global warming will actually come to affect us within the next fifty years or so! Which is quite surprising as I always thought that I wouldn’t really have to worry, as I would be long gone before any major weather changes came into effect? Perhaps I should watch “the inconvenient truth” and learn all about the imminent devastations just waiting to occur. Of course alternatively, I could always turn on the air conditioning and cook up some food. Aah! Decisions! Decisions!

[ Click here to read more ]

Add Comments

Vote

[ Link ]

September 27th 2006 @ 11:52

Posted By: Laura - Category: Salads

Email this Post to a Friend

Rocket, parmesan and pomegranate salad

It’s amazing! I have finally discovered a salad that uses pomegranate and it is delicious! The sweet pomegranate flavour really harmonizes well with the parmesan and nutty taste of the rocket. And the reddish-pink pomegranate seeds add a nice touch of colour to an otherwise very green salad. The pomegranate juice in the dressing also softens the very strong flavour of balsamic vinegar.

[ Click here to read more ]

Comments (3)

Add Comments

Vote

[ Link ]

September 19th 2006 @ 07:09

Posted By: Laura - Category: Salads

Email this Post to a Friend

Baby Spinach, Prosciutto, Apple and Nut Salad

Baby spinach, prosciutto, apple and nut salad

Are you looking a bit puzzled at the vast array of ingredients in this salad? Possibly doubting the unusual combination? Well don’t be puzzled or perplexed! It isn’t just a random mix of mumbo jumbo! It is actually an Italian Salad! The only difference is that this salad uses prosciutto while the traditional salad uses Bresaola.

[ Click here to read more ]

Add Comments

Vote

[ Link ]

September 15th 2006 @ 14:55

Posted By: Laura - Category: Salads

Email this Post to a Friend

Cheer up Charlie, try Oriental Chinese cabbage Salad

Oriental Chinese cabbage salad

Remember how in the beginning, Charlie from “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” is really poor. A hole in the roof and everything coloured grey. Things weren’t looking all that bright. All his grandparents even had to sleep in the same bed in the middle of their one-roomed house! And nearly every night they ate cabbage soup (might have been lettuce soup… can’t really tell when vegetables have been boiled that long and are so scant) …hmmm actually it was more like cabbage water. Anyways, what Charlie needed back then (Pre- Chocolate factory that is) was someone to come in and say “Let’s mix those veggies up a bit! Why not try Chinese Cabbage Salad!” It would have cheered up Charlie for one day at the least.

Oriental Chinese Cabbage salad is really fast to whip up and bursting with oriental flavour. It’s crunchy and tasty! (The crunch coming from the fried noodles not so much the cabbage). It has a lemon tang which is softened by the sugar and the sesame oil gives it that natural sesame aroma. Surprisingly Chinese cabbage tastes great uncooked you’ll be glad to know! Not like some other vegetables which have a tendency to taste just a tad like grass.
[ Click here to read more ]

Comments (3)

Add Comments

Vote

[ Link ]

September 4th 2006 @ 02:47

Posted By: Laura - Category: Salads

Email this Post to a Friend

Chunky Deli Pasta Salad

Deli Pasta Salad

Don’t you just love the atmosphere of going to your local ‘whatever’ store! ‘Whatever’ standing for any (and every) kind of local store, big or small, which has that unique, friendly, “I’m one of the regulars- How you doing today?” kind of feel to it. There’s something just so rare about finding one of these particular types of stores. They are so few and far between!

[ Click here to read more ]

Comments (8)

Add Comments

113

Vote

[ Link ]

August 23rd 2006 @ 10:50

Posted By: Laura - Category: Salads

Email this Post to a Friend

Roast Pumpkin and fetta salad

Roast pumpkin and fetta salad

It’s that time of the year again! August! Yes, you may be momentarily puzzled, thinking to yourself, No, it’s still too early for Christmas, Easter or even New Years, so what holiday in the world is in August? Well no major holiday as far as I can recall, but August is the last month of winter and consequently the beginning for many, to begin their crazy fad diets in an effort to look in “tip top” shape for the summer sun. I would say don’t laugh, except that I find it quite hilarious how the sales of diet pills and low kilojoule meal replacement bars seems to have suddenly taken off. You would think people would simply learn to eat a little less and exercise just a little more to combat the slight bulge, but no, people love the ideal of miracle diets! Probably because it is so unattainable and yet so deliciously tempting! Like *poof!*, instant hot body, just add water!

So in an attempt to be more health conscious (summer is after all only a little more than 3 months away) I thought it was time to investigate the wide world of salads. I remember when I was young, how the only salad I knew of was Garden salad, which was not exactly the most exciting thing to be eating. Sort of made you feel like a fluffy grass eating animal. But now, the whole salad industry has been positively revolutionised! You wouldn’t even know it was salad if it didn’t have the word “Salad” emblazoned in the title! And one such salad I recently discovered is Roast pumpkin and fetta salad. The sweet pumpkin flavours really do balance out the bitter taste of the rocket, while the fetta and tomatoes complement each other very well! And while you do have to allow time to roast the pumpkin during preparation, it is because of the pumpkin that this salad is quite filling, unlike many of its light green leafy counterparts, so you won’t be running off to the refrigerator looking for more food! mmmmm.. Salads are definitely a way of the future!
[ Click here to read more ]

Add Comments

Vote

[ Link ]

August 22nd 2006 @ 09:31

Posted By: Laura - Category: Salads

Email this Post to a Friend

Rocket salad: food for the inner Rocket Scientist!

Rocket Salad!

Okay Monday! Got to get pumped for the long week ahead! After all those late nights out on the weekend, you need something to bring out that inner Rocket Scientist we all know is hibernating inside, biding its time until it can unleash its pure genius! And what better way than with Rocket Salad! It even has Rocket in its name so you know it has got to be good! Good enough for Astronauts some might say, and they need lots of energy for their unfailing concentration because one mistake, and bye bye Earth, Hello the rest of the universe!

On a more serious note, Rocket salad is a great change away from the traditional garden salad which features the usual, lettuce, tomato and cucumber. Why eat your salad plain when you can whip up a vinaigrette in 5 seconds (possibly 3 seconds if you’re a seasoned professional)? So take a break from the winter comfort food for a day and give rocket salad a go!
[ Click here to read more ]

Comments (1)

Add Comments

Vote

[ Link ]

July 3rd 2006 @ 03:10

Posted By: Laura - Category: Salads

Email this Post to a Friend

Burghul Salad with sliced leg ham

Burghul Salad with Sliced leg ham

Burghul! What in the world!? That’s probably what most of you are thinking. Yes, not exactly one of those words you hear everyday. “Hi! And would you like some Burghul with your burger today?” But it is definitely one of those foods you can’t forget once you’ve met it!

Burghul is popular in the Middle East, also known as Bulgar, put simply it is a type of wheat kernel and can be bought either whole or cracked into fine, medium or coarse grains. They are usually pre-steamed and pre-baked, and to cook you simply soak them in water (the grains soak up the water). Indeed it is very similar in many ways to couscous.
[ Click here to read more ]

Comments (1)

Add Comments

Vote

[ Link ]

June 27th 2006 @ 13:38

Posted By: Laura - Category: Salads

Email this Post to a Friend

COUSCOUS, So Nice they named it Twice!

Now there’s a name to live up to. Naturally, when I first heard about this great ingredient, “Couscous”, I was curious and excited at the prospects of trying this taste tantaliser. Would it really satiate my senses? Or was this saying all just lies?

Well, I can say truthfully that my first Couscous experience was anything but appealing. Let it be a warning now to all, that Couscous by itself, solo, is possibly one of the blandest foods known to man. If I had ever eaten sand, I’d imagine it would have had more taste.
[ Click here to read more ]

Comments (7)

Add Comments

106

Vote

[ Link ]

April 18th 2006 @ 14:16

Posted By: Laura - Category: Salads

Email this Post to a Friend